It is only a few days till the Church of God version of Passover happens and the Living Church of God has been plastering its member page with one "uplifting" article after another on how to "properly" prepare for Passover. As the years go by the hoops members need to jump through get more and more frequent.
Did you know that questioning doctrine has the potential of making you take the Passover in a wrong manner? To do so means you refuse to submit to Gerald Weston, who is the FINAL authority on doctrine after Jesus Christ.
Isn't it refreshing to know that all doctrinal purity has descended to us today directly through Herbert Armstrong, Rod Meredith and now finally to Gerald Weston? No theological decision can be made without this mans approval. No human on the entire planet has this much authority directly handed to them by Jesus himself. Both Dave Pack and Bob Thiel have been left whimpering in the corner.
Dexter Wakefield claims that LCG is always on a quest to "deeper and broader" in its doctrinal understanding, though for some reason they still refuse to follow the New Covenant teachings.
The notion that Living Church of God wants to go "
deeper and broader" in their knowledge and understanding is a joke. They still are stuck in 1986 or earlier in all their actions and beliefs.
Beware of people who say that they have “new truth”—it’s usually old
errors. The Church’s doctrines have been researched and thoroughly
vetted for decades under Mr. Herbert W. Armstrong, Dr. Roderick C.
Meredith and now Mr. Gerald Weston, and we are convinced that we have
God’s truth. With God’s help, we want to go deeper and broader in our knowledge and understanding—but we should beware when someone wants to go differently.
The
Apostle Paul cautioned the Church in Corinth to be constantly vigilant
for those who preach doctrinal error. “For if someone comes and
proclaims another Jesus than the one we proclaimed, or if you receive a
different spirit from the one you received, or if you accept a different
gospel from the one you accepted, you put up with it readily enough” (2
Corinthians 11:4, ESV). Here’s an action item: Don’t put up with it!
And God forbid of some lowly church member has an epiphany and knows the church is wrong about something. That member must remain silent and and maybe let his pastor know, who will then, nine times out of ten dump it in the trash bin, or steal the idea and run with it himself taking all the credit. But usually, the minister will claim to be more intelligent than you and set you straight.
We always want to grow in grace and knowledge, and from time to time,
a member may think we’ve made a mistake. Or perhaps he believes he has
found something new that we should look into. When that’s the case,
there’s a procedure that should be followed. Don’t advocate your idea
among the congregation; rather, discuss it with your minister. But be
prepared for him to engage in helpful analysis. The minister may have
seen your idea before and, as a result, may have a ready answer with
scriptures or related doctrines that you haven’t considered. That’s
often the case. Or, if you both think that the idea needs to be
considered further, it can be sent on to his Regional Pastor and
possibly the Personal Correspondence Department.
If so, be
patient in waiting for a response. If it’s worthy of further
investigation, the Council of Elders does consider study papers and
thoughtful commentary.
Notice what LCG believes will happen if that member strike out on his own. It is the very same thing that Rod Meredith did himself!
Often, the leaven of false doctrine is used by individuals seeking to
form their own little church group. They need a different doctrine or
two to distinguish them from others in order to corral the sheep they
need to support their small ministry. Those who have done this typically
have several characteristics in common:
• They assert some unique doctrine or “revelation” that distinguishes their splinter group from others.
•
Their evangelistic work is ineffective, and few new people join their
group. So, they seek to take sheep from other organizations and
fellowships rather than evangelizing the world.
• There is often a high degree of control of the group.
Speaking of control, the irony here is astounding! Are they so dense that they cannot see this is exactly that they are doing to their members? And what about their evangelistic efforts? Their "evangelism" is ineffective and draw in no new people other than drawing in disgruntled xCOG members who jump ships like fleas from dog to dog.
LCG then takes another swipe of Bob Thiel and others who have left to start their own personality cults.
Christ warned us about these false ministers when He said, “Beware of
false prophets, who come to you in sheep’s clothing, but inwardly they
are ravenous wolves. You will know them by their fruits. Do men gather
grapes from thornbushes or figs from thistles? Even so, every good tree
bears good fruit, but a bad tree bears bad fruit. A good tree cannot
bear bad fruit, nor can a bad tree bear good fruit. Every tree that does
not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire. Therefore by their fruits you will know them” (Matthew 7:15–20).
Obviously this never applied to Rod Meredith when he apostatized from the WCG to start two new COG's. None of the scriptures ever seem to apply when the various COGs are doing exactly what is spoken about.
LCG members apparently don't trust HQ to make wise decisions when it comes to doctrine, because many still question them, even in 2018.
In the ministry, we have dealt with many of the same doctrinal questions
for years: the proper dating of the Holy Days and calendar issues,
private prophetic interpretations and many others. These issues come
back year after year, decade after decade, as new people discover old
errors. The Bible teaches us that Satan stalks about the fringes of the
flock “like a roaring lion, seeking whom he may devour” (1 Peter 5:8).
Those who regularly search the Internet for doctrinal issues probably do
not appreciate the precious truth we have and may find themselves
within that lion’s range of attack.
Satan is the one behind all questions, so LCG members had better learn to be subservient and never question. Plus they need to examine their lives during this season to understand why they cannot submit to HQ. Their salvation depends upon it.
God said that He uses His ministry and His Church to maintain
doctrinal integrity. The Church is the bulwark of the faith. The Apostle
Paul reminded the evangelist Timothy, “These things I write to you,
though I hope to come to you shortly; but if I am delayed, I write so
that you may know how you ought to conduct yourself in the house of God,
which is the church of the living God, the pillar and ground of the truth” (1 Timothy 3:14–15).
The
ministry has both the responsibility and authority to maintain the
doctrinal integrity of the Church. Even in the world, we don’t give a
person the responsibility to do a job without also giving the authority
that is required to accomplish it. Failing to do so would defeat our own
purpose. And God is far wiser than we are.
God uses His faithful ministry to preserve the truth in His Church.
That’s a big reason why the Church is the “pillar and ground of the
truth.” And we’re required to judge who is a true minister of Jesus
Christ, and, again, “You will know them by their fruits” (Matthew 7:16).
But what are our obligations when we identify a true minister of
Christ? We gladly accept the authority and service that Christ provides
through His ministry and His Church. Sheep flee a wolf but follow a
shepherd.
The sheep should flee the wolf presently leading them astray and away from the New Covenant. The wolves have been devouring members for far too long now. When will the captives be set free?
